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I've never run into them myself but in Uganda lots of the young volunteers who had to stay at cheaper hotels and hostels often ran into them. They can be really bad. One volunteer had big red blotches all over her legs.
I got bitten 30+ times at a tourist trap bed and breakfast on Haight Street SF in 2006. Never having experienced them in the UK (although I'm sure there are cases here) I didn't realise what the red itchy lumps the first morning I saw them. The second morning I showed them to a Bay Area friend who told me what they were
Just because one doesn't see them doesn't mean they aren't present!
They usually come out just before dawn, according to my research. And one feeding on you can suffice for days. They can go without feedings on your blood for 18 months. They live/hide in cracks in the wall, baseboards, drawers, behind picture frames, curtains, ceiling fans, books, and probably inside electronics. I found one while flipping thru a dictionary. Check books from used bookstores, flea mkts. and libraries for bugs.
At least you can see the adult ones. It's the nymphs (?) that are almost invisible?
Many times, people think the bumps are mosquito bites or pimples. By the time you realize what's going on, it's often too late, as the infestation has probably started.
The itching is so annoying.
Not everyone who gets bit will develop bite marks, supposedly. Females are more vulnerable for some reason. Two people in the same bed may have different experiences.
Then they get in your car...
The New York Times has good articles on the NYC infestation in the past 10 years.
Cincinnati has been esp. hard hit, as has Vancouver, Canada. With all the immigrants in Vancouver, that's not surprising (if it is true about immigrant as possibly transporting them. Actually, anyone who travels internationally should be careful.
It's very costly to treat, so many people may have to put up with it -- and do, for fear of being evicted. Landlords are supposed to pay for treatment, but may blame you instead. Good luck moving, as you'll bring them along. It takes multiple treatments oftentimes, and that's still not 100% effective with some cases.
Worse is the stigma, as you really can't tell friends or co-workers.
College dorms are vulnerable with all the moving in/out with used furniture.
DO not buy or pickup used furniture or bureaus. They hide in these crevices.
Some people have killed themselves over this problem.
Laundromats can be a site for bedbugs; after all, people brings bags of contaminated clothes...where do you think some stray bugs end up if not in the machine?
It's so overwhelming a problem. Even some dermatologists are still unfamiliar with it, so they'll diagnose the bites as something else.
You can have the bites and crazy itchiness, but not be able to find a bug, esp. in daylight.
I was just posting about these horrid little creatures in another thread and decided to read this one.
Yup, we had them here in PHX last year. No the managers would not spray for them!
And even doctors didn't know what they were at first.
When one doc finally told me what she thought they were we looked at the mattress and sure enough there was evidence.
We moved, I left ALL my furniture behind and washed everything else in hot water. havent had them since. (thank God)
You'll know if you have them when you seen the bumps on your skin always at the ankle area and arms. And it itches like carzy!
A friend's daughter a couple years ago had just graduated from NYU and was moving into an appartment. The managment would only allow them to move in if they had all NEW furniture delivered right from the store. He didn't want to contend with the possibility of his building being infested. Anyone moving in had to have all new furniture.
Thanks to this thread! I have 5 upcoming hotel stays across the southeast.... I checked and the one in Norfolk VA had a bedbug report.
I cancelled that one!
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